CSM Auction

What is the CSM course really worth? Essentially, the market sets the rate. Trainers charge what corporations are willing to pay. If the price is too high —as it was seen to be when the recent recession hit earlier this year— classes do not fill up. Trainers/training suppliers lower the prices until sales start increasing again, and thus establish a new market rate.

The market sets the level that corporations are willing to pay for its employees to be trained. But what if the employees have to pay for themselves? The rates would undoubtedly be different, but how different? I decided to take a first stab at finding out.

I am running my first CSM course where participants can bid for a place in an open auction. The course will take place in Palo Alto at the end of November. Ten places are up for auction with a starting bid of $100. The other places are reserved for the unemployed through direct application.

Because this is part of the WelfareCSM program, there is a requirement that all participants pay out of their own pocket, and are not sponsored by an employer. These workshops are not cheap alternatives for companies wanting to train their staff, but are for those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to achieve CSM status.

Applicants can buy a place outright at the approximate market rate of $1,2000. It will be interesting to see how much many take that option. My guess is zero.

The most anyone has paid me for attending the WelfareCSM course is $500. It is my guess that this is about the maximum the bids will go up to. It’ll be interesting to see. Of course, the number of people bidding will have an effect on how high the bids go.

You can watch the auction in progress from here: WelfareCSM Auction. All bidders will use an assigned id so will remain anonymous.

The use of a reserve in auctions turns out to be a myth. A study analyzing auction results on eBay found that lower starting bids generated higher final prices. Ex: nikon digital cameras with initial bid of 1 penny sold for average of $312 where as higher starting prices went for avg of $204.